It is conventional to use power MOSFET transistors to gate power to separate motor phase windings in order to minimize the number of transistors required and related drive circuitry, while still maintaining significant torque thereby minimizing cost. When a particular MOSFET transistor is gated on, current flows through the attached coil winding. When the same transistor is turned off, the energy field contained within the coil collapses creating a large voltage potential (V.sub.flyback) across the power transistor. This causes the transistor to go into an avalanche breakdown mode at its specified breakdown voltage (V.sub.breakdown). This effect limits the V.sub.flyback to V.sub.breakdown. The flyback energy is then dissipated between the coil and the transistor, creating a temperature rise in the power transistor proportional to I.sub.flyback .times.V.sub.breakdown.
For low power designs, this flyback temperature rise is tolerable, as the energy contained in the coil is relatively small. However, for higher power designs, the temperature rise is excessive and destroys the transistor. Also, the flyback energy is converted into heat instead of motion, so an efficiency loss is realized. Ideally, V.sub.flyback should be clamped with a diode so that the majority of the energy dissipates in the coil. However, after the flyback energy dissipates, and after the coil winding passes a new pole, the coil tries to generate an EMF voltage (V.sub.emf) of the same polarity as V.sub.flyback. If a clamping diode is used, V.sub.emf is also clamped creating a breaking effect thereby resulting in a major loss of energy.